Abandoning inauthentic intersectionality

Abstract

In the time since the term “intersectionality” was first introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw, the term has gained a measure of widespread, even viral popularity. Increasingly, psycholinguists are citing this concept to promote work which more fully engages with the consequences of human diversity for language processing. This piece discusses the ways in which “intersectionality” has thus far been engaged by the field of psycholinguistics. I argue that the common usage of the term “intersectionality” is notably out of step with the tradition of Black feminist scholarship from which it derives. Originally defined as an analytical framework for examining the effect of interlocking oppressions in erasing the distinctive experiences of multiply marginalized people, intersectionality should not be invoked without any serious and specific discussion of oppressive systems or erasure. To achieve a more just and equitable applied psycholinguistics and authentically promote intersectional approaches to understanding language behavior, intersectionality must be taken as a framework primarily engaging with effects of structural violence. The article concludes with some guidelines for readers to assist in distinguishing “intersectional” claims which perform erasure from those which reflect the original and intended anti-misogynoir applications of the theory.

A history of the community mental health movement and individuals with serious mental illness: A vision for the future.

“…Our field cannot afford to sit quietly by as injustices still occur for those who face some of the most fused and intersecting experiences of oppression. These terms of fusion and intersectionality are offered as we understand the theory of intersectionality, in that interlocking oppressive experiences, provide a more additive and joint oppressive experience than a singular experience, which must also be contextualized for those with SMI (Tripp, 2023). Therefore, the next parts of this article will outline social justice action agendas for the organization and diverse collaborative fields to cross-fertilize as we embark upon the future and such concerning intersectional experiences of oppression.…”

Intersectionality in Educational Psychology and Curriculum Studies: A Critical Review

“…Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods that claim to be 'intersectional' are ultimately insufficient if the results are not interpreted concerning power dynamics and structural inequality. We must wake up from the 'institutional amnesia' where we pretend the term to be a purely intellectual innovation (Collins & Bilge, 2020;Nash, 2017) and preserve the integrity of intersectional inquiry by abandoning inauthentic intersectionality and committing to dismantling structural oppressions (Tripp, 2023).…”

A Call for Transformative Intersectional LPAA Intervention for Equity and Social Justice in Ethnosocially Diverse Post-Stroke Aphasia Services

“…Intersectionality, originally introduced in legal studies and often applied in the social and health sciences to highlight interacting axes in racism, disadvantage, and discrimination (Carbado et al, 2013;Lo ´pez & Gadsden, 2016;Tripp, 2023), has been useful in public health to focus healthcare educators, researchers, and practitioners on the complex sociopolitical dynamics driving individual and population health (Bridges et al, 2017;Hankivsky et al, 2017). In the case of vulnerable ethnosocially diverse aphasia caseloads, as in the services for other marginalized ethnosocially diverse populations with disabilities (e.g., stuttering caseloads from vulnerable BIPOC communities), an intersectional approach to intervention would be very valuable.…”